Appeal in Pima County Juvenile Adoption Action No. B-13795, Matter of, B-13795
| Decision Date | 23 September 1993 |
| Docket Number | B-13795,CA-JV,No. 2,2 |
| Citation | 176 Ariz. 210,859 P.2d 1343 |
| Parties | In the Matter of the APPEAL IN PIMA COUNTY JUVENILE ADOPTION ACTION NO.93-0024. |
| Court | Arizona Court of Appeals |
This appeal is taken from the order of the juvenile court denying appellants' petition for preadoption certification. The petition was filed by appellant Judith Rumler and her ex-husband Jackie Rumler. A social study prepared by order of the juvenile court reveals that Judith had a son by a prior relationship who was adopted by Jackie when the two were married in 1969. They had a child of their own in 1972. The marriage was terminated by divorce in 1979 and Judith received custody of the children.
In 1981, Judith married the subject minor's natural father. The minor was born in 1981 and his parents divorced in 1982. The natural father's rights were terminated in 1987. Jackie has known the minor since the latter was six months old and has developed a close relationship with him. He now desires to adopt the minor because he wants to support him and make the minor his legal heir. Judith and Jackie do not live together and apparently have no plans to resume their prior relationship.
Although the social study spoke very favorably of Jackie, the adoption examiner nevertheless recommended that he be certified as non-acceptable based on her interpretation of the adoption statutes. The juvenile court agreed, finding that "the Adoption Statutes make no provision for the Adoption of a Minor by his natural mother's ex-husband, while the natural mother retains custody of the child." This appeal followed.
A.R.S. § 8-103 provides that Under this statute, Jackie is clearly eligible to qualify as an adoptive parent. However, the effect of his adoption of the minor would be as follows:
Upon entry of the decree of adoption, the relationship of parent and child between the adopted person and the persons who were his parents just prior to the decree of adoption shall be completely severed and all the legal rights, privileges, duties, obligations and other legal consequences of the relationship shall cease to exist, including the right of inheritance, except that where the adoption is by the spouse of the child's parent, the relationship of the child to...
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Jacob, Matter of
...the biological child of one partner]; Adoption of Susan, 416 Mass. 1003, 619 N.E.2d 323 [same]; Matter of Appeal in Pima County Juvenile Adoption Action No. B-13795, 176 Ariz. 210, 859 P.2d 1343 [biological mother and her former husband who are not living together cannot adopt]; In re Jason......
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West v. Elliott B M..W.
...entry of the decree of adoption, unless "the adoption is by the spouse of the child's parent"); see also Pima County Juv. Adoption Action No. B-13795, 176 Ariz. 210, 211 (App. 1993) ("[T]he only exception to severance of the natural parent's rights following adoption occur[s] where the natu......
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William C. v. Vanessa L.
...only to spouses), A.R.S. § 8-117(B) (severing relationship with former parents upon adoption); In re Pima Cty. Juv. Adoption Action No. B-13795, 176 Ariz. 210, 211 (App. 1993). Thus, the evidence on the record before us is insufficient to support a finding that C.C.'s adoption is both legal......
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In re Strickland
...a special benefit not otherwise available to others. This legislative intent is illustrated in Pima County Juvenile Adoption Action No. B-13795, 176 Ariz. 210 (App. 1993), in which weconstrued A.R.S. § 8-117(B) as creating a stepparent exception to the child adoption statute because of the ......